Team of the week: Record breakers and hat-trick heroes
Monday 18 April 2016 22:21, UK
It's a free-running team of the week this week, with record individual try scorers and a No 8 with an eye for the line.
15. Israel Dagg (Crusaders)
On his return from long-term injury, Israel Dagg admitted he was so nervous before the match against the Jaguares that he couldn't eat, but the full-back needn't have worried.
Dagg looked like he'd never been away as he made 118 metres, 16 carries and scored two tries. His 64-minute performance certainly blew away the cobwebs as well as securing him the man-of-the-match award.
14. Christian Wade (Wasps)
Honourable mentions to Connacht's flyer Niyi Adeolokun and the Cheetahs' Sergeal Petersen but Wade was superb for Wasps.
The winger ran in six tries against Worcester, equalling the Premiership record set by Saracens' wing Ryan Constable against Bedford in 2000.
13. Bundee Aki (Connacht)
It was another eye-catching performance from the Connacht powerhouse who was superb in both attack and defence. He gained an impressive 126 metres with 19 carries and his offload to allow Adeolokun to score was superb.
12. Kurtley Beale (Waratahs)
The Waratahs' loss to the Brumbies dealt a blow to their season's hopes but the performance of Kurtley Beale was something to take from the match. A fit-again Beale looked incredibly sharp; he set up Israel Folau's try and contributed 15 carries and 71 metres.
11. Collins Injera (Kenya)
Kenya stunned Fiji to win the Singapore Sevens on Sunday with the evergreen talisman of Kenya scoring two tries in the 30-7 victory.
The east Africans, who had twice finished runner-up in tournaments, blew the Fijians off the park as Injera took his career tally to 228 tries, just two behind Argentina's Santiago Gomez Cora's world record of 230.
"Winning this final means more to me than the tries," Injera said. "I'm not focused on them, because the ultimate goal is to medal at the Olympics."
10. Finn Russell (Glasgow)
A great performance from Russell who controlled the show as Glasgow trounced Scarlets 46-10. As well as scoring 21 points on the day - including two tries - Russell made eight carries for an impressive 103 metres made.
Elsewhere, Freddie Burns notched up 20 points for Leicester in their East Midlands derby but Russell just gets the nod.
9. Faf De Klerk (Lions)
De Klerk's quick thinking helped the Lions beat the Stormers in their Super Rugby derby clash on Saturday. His tap-penalty and try was the decisive score as the Lions opened up a five-point lead over the Sharks in their Africa Conference 2.
1. Dylan Smith (Lions)
For the second consecutive week Dylan Smith occupies the No 1 jersey in our team of the week. Smith anchored the Lions scrum and stood up well to the much-vaunted Vincent Koch.
2. Harry Thacker (Leicester)
This season the Leicester hooker is grabbing his opportunity with both hands. Not only did he deliver strong work in the set-piece but also scored a try that any back would have been proud to call their own.
From the half-way line Thacker's injection of pace, footwork and a textbook show-and-go finished one of the solo tries of the Premiership season.
3. Finlay Bealham (Connacht)
Bealham ended Connacht's victory over Munster delighted having scored, in his words, his first "meat pie" for the club.
Not only did he cross himself, the prop also showed deft hands to set up Niyi Adeolokun and was a cog in a solid set-piece.
4. Joe Tekori (Toulouse)
In the TOP14 Joe Tekori led the way for Toulouse with 13 carries and his side's victory closed the gap on their opponents who are above them in the standings.
Racing 92 may have been under-cooked, resting many of their players ahead of the Champions Cup, but take nothing away from Tekori or Toulouse - the victory was well earned.
5 Franco Mostert (Lions)
Mostert carried hard and played his part in a bruising encounter between the Lions and Stormers at Ellis Park. The clash will have given South Africa's new national head coach, Allister Coetzee, some food for thought.
6. Hendrik Tui (Reds)
Another man that was stoic in defeat was Hendrik Tui. Tui's work rate remains high; he was one of the Reds' top tacklers and carriers and will be integral to their season.
7. Josh van der Flier (Leinster)
With ten carries for an average of 6.4m per carry Van de Flier was exceptional against Edinburgh. He also put in 17 tackles and is going from strength-to-strength as the season progresses.
8. Paul Schoeman (Cheetahs)
Hat-tricks are normally reserved for members of the backline but in this weekend's Super Rugby, Paul Schoeman bucked that trend.
Schoeman was part of the ruthless Cheetahs' outfit that humbled the Sunwolves and recorded the largest winning margin of the season with a 92-17 victory.
